Method for playing five card stud poker billiards

ABSTRACT

A game which combines aspects of pocket billiards and poker begins with determining the order of play for the pocket billiards portion and determining the ante amount and the raise amount for the poker portion. Cards are then dealt for the poker portion after which the players bet on their poker hands. Ante amounts and penalty values are set for penalty cards before the pocket billiards play begins. Pocket billiards is then played until all billiard balls corresponding to the poker cards of a player have been pocketed, and that player is the winner of the pocket billiards portion and receives the pocket billiards payout. The best poker hand is then determined, with the winner receiving the poker portion payout.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the field of games, and moreparticularly to a game which combines aspects of pocket billiards andpoker.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some people like to play pool. Some people like to play poker. There isa need for a game which combines some of the aspects of both.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, a game which combines aspects of pocket billiards andpoker begins with determining the order of play for the pocket billiardsportion and determining the ante amount and the raise amount for thepoker portion. Cards are then dealt for the poker portion after whichthe players bet on their poker hands. Ante amounts and penalty valuesare set for penalty cards before the pocket billiards play begins.Pocket billiards is then played until all billiard balls correspondingto the poker cards of a player have been pocketed, and that player isthe winner of the pocket billiards portion and receives the pocketbilliards payout. The best poker hand is then determined, with thewinner receiving the poker portion payout.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a method for playing a gamecombining aspects of pocket billiards and poker and having a pocketbilliards portion and a poker portion includes the steps of (a)determining a order of play for the pocket billiards portion; (b)determining an ante amount and a raise amount for the poker portion; (c)dealing cards to a plurality of players for the poker portion; (d)betting on poker hands in the poker portion; (e) determining an anteamount and penalty values for penalty cards for the pocket billiardsportion; (f) playing consecutive order pocket billiards in the pocketbilliards portion until all billiard balls corresponding to the pokercards of a billiard player have been pocketed; and (g) determining apoker player having a best poker hand in the poker portion.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the method of playing thegame is adapted for tournament play by including the steps of (a)playing a first specified plurality of games at each of a plurality oftables; (b) determining, at a conclusion of playing the first specifiedplurality of games, a winner for each of the tables; (c) forming a finaltable consisting of all the winners from each of the tables; (d) playinga second specified plurality of games at the final table; and (f)determining, at a conclusion of playing the second specified pluralityof games, a winner at the final table.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the arrangement for racking conventional billiard ballswhen playing the game of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows the arrangement for racking poker billiard balls whenplaying the game of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows the sequence of game play for the game of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a player position form optionally used whenplaying the game of the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a table log optionally used when playing thegame of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Five Card Stud Poker Billiards combines elements of poker and billiards(pool) at the same time using the accessories and rules of each game.There are two “Winners”, one for each part of the game: (1) the one whohas the winning poker hand and (2) the one that is the “First Out” inthe billiards game by having all the balls matching the 5-card pokerhand pocketed first.

The following are needed to play the game:

-   -   (a) two to ten players of any skill level. It helps if they all        know the basic rules for both poker and pool, but it is not        necessary for all to have fun - players can learn as you go;    -   (b) one standard 52-card deck of playing cards (the Jokers are        not used);    -   (c) a pool table (any size) with all the normal equipment        (balls, rack, sticks, chalk, etc.); and    -   (d) a copy of these rules to get started and to answer any        questions as play progresses through the various steps of the        game.

Combining both games is done as follows. The value of each card matchesthe number on one of the billiard balls. For example, Ace=1, Two=2,etc.. and Jack=11, Queen=12, King=13. The 14 & 15 balls have nocorresponding value as cards and are considered “Free”.

The players are set up as follows. Each player is assigned a positionaround a table. This is the player's “spot” throughout the entire game.This assignment is totally random and has no effect on the playing ofeither poker or pool, i.e., no one has an advantage. Preferably, theplayer assigned to Seat #1 should know both the games of poker and pool.The player at Seat #1 runs the game and is termed the Banker forpurposes of this detailed description. The Banker deals all of the cardsand checks, collects, and pays out all bets, directs all play andresolves all problems by referring to the rules.

The basic rules for play are as follows. (1) Each player leaves all ofthe cards and chips on the table in their position at all times. (2)Cards are not to be shown to any other player. (3) When a “First Out” issignaled by a player, the “First Out” hand is exposed and checked by theBanker. Unlike regular poker, cards are not to be shown until the “FirstOut” hand on the table has been verified a winner. (4) All decisionsmade by the Banker are final.

Referring to FIG. 3, the Banker shuffles the cards to begin the game,whether using the full deck or those set aside to determine the shootingorder, and then deals one card to each player. The order of play forpool is then determined (step 10). The person with the highest cardshoots pool first, i.e., breaks. The remaining players take turnsshooting in the order of the cards dealt, highest to lowest. If twoplayers have the same value card, then the order is determined by thesuit with spades being the highest followed by hearts, diamonds andclubs. If another deck of cards is available, it is preferable to pullout the number of cards equal to the number of players so that they canbe left by each player's position while play continues for the rest ofthe game. Otherwise, a piece of paper is preferably placed in front ofeach player with their shooting order written on it so as to provide aneasy reference for the players to shoot in the correct order.

Then the ante and raise amounts for the poker part are determined (step12). Each player then places his ante on the table in front of him. TheBanker collects all of the ante chips and places them in the “StudPoker” box. Any container is suitable for this purpose. The firstshooter, i.e., the one with the highest single card, is considered the“Dealer” for the poker hand. The Banker shuffles the cards, offers thecut to the player on the Dealer's right, and then deals five cards toeach player, one at a time, starting with the player on the Dealer'sleft (step 14). Betting starts with the player on the dealer's left andeach player in turn chooses to stay, raise, or drop out (step 16). Ifthe raise is chosen, the cards of the player raising are placed facedown on the table with the chips for the raise on top of the hand. Thesuggested betting to start with is having the ante be one chip and theraise be up to two chips. The poker hands are not shown until after thepool play has finished when a “First-Out” Winner is declared andverified. In an alternate method of play, all players ante one chip forthe poker hand and there are no raises permitted.

The Dealer then picks up the chips of each player still in the hand,i.e., those who haven't folded, and places them in the “Stud Poker” boxwith the ante chips, makes sure that all of the poker hands are facedown on the table in front of each player, and prepares to play the“First-Out” part of the game. Players may look at their hands any numberof times during the game, but must be careful not to show their cards toany of the other players.

The pool play, i.e., the “First-Out” part of the game, begins with theDealer determining the “First-Out” ante and setting the amount for eachpenalty card whose corresponding billiard ball is not pocketed (step18). The ante chips are placed on the table in front of each player. TheBanker collects all of the ante chips and places them in the “First Out”box, which may be any type of container. The suggested betting is tostart with an ante of one chip, with a penalty for each card left beingone chip.

The pool game is played according to conventional rules for “consecutiveorder of play” pocket billiards with the exception of the “free balls”as noted below. The balls are racked as shown in the correspondingarrangements as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, depending on which set of ballsare used. Conventional pool balls are shown in FIG. 1, while poker ballsare shown in FIG. 2. The Dealer breaks the rack and continues the turnif any balls are pocketed. After the break, the balls are played innumerical order, lowest to highest. At any time the shooter may shootthe 14 or 15 ball, i.e., the free balls, instead of the lowest ball onthe table. However, if the shooter has “Ball-in-Hand”, i.e., the shooterhas the cue ball in hand due to the preceding player's foul, whereby theshooter can place the cue ball anywhere on the table, the player is notpermitted to play the free balls but must shoot the lowest ball on thetable. Should the player pocket the lowest ball, the player now has theoption of shooting the lowest, 14, or 15 ball. “Ball-in-Hand” is theresult of a foul by the preceding shooter, e.g., pocketing the cue ball,scratching, or not striking a permitted ball first.

When the hand is complete with all balls matching the five cards in anyplayer's hand being pocketed, that player immediately places his or hercards on the table, face up, and declares “First Out” (step 20). Thehand is inspected and verified, after which the other players placetheir cards face up on the table. The winner gets the ante plus thepredetermined amount from each opponent for each card held by theopponent matching a ball still on the table (step 22). Should any otherhands prove to be completed at the same time for “First-Out”, a tieensues with the “First Out” pot being split equally.

Some playing hints are as follows. First, pocketing the 14 and 15 ballsextends a player's turn but does not count in the player's poker hand,and may also limit the player's options later in the game. Second, aplayer should always try to pocket the balls that are high cards in theplayer's hand, i.e., the Jack, Queen, and King, or the high pairs suchas 8's, 9's or 10's first, because the smaller numbered balls will fallin normal rotation as other players shoot. Third, as long as a playerhits the ball that is lowest in rotation or a “free” ball first, anylegitimately pocketed ball counts and the player continues shooting. Forexample, suppose the player has a King in his hand. The player shouldthen shoot the lowest ball on the table or a “Free” ball (the 14 or 15)into the 13 ball (corresponding to the King) to pocket the 13 ball.

The player's turn is terminated if (1) there is a foul on the break,i.e., a scratch or if four balls do not hit rails, in which case theballs are re-racked and the second shooter breaks, (2) there is ascratch during normal shooting, (3) if any ball goes off the table, (4)if a ball is not shot in the correct order, (5) if no ball hits a rail,(6) if the cue ball hits anything other than the object ball first, (7)if there is a double hit on the cue ball during the stroke, (8) if thecue ball is moved for any reason other than the shooter hasBall-in-Hand, (9) for shooting out of order, or (10) if there is afrozen object ball against the cue ball or the rail and if the player“pushes” the shot. Balls pocketed during any foul are placed on the markin the order they were pocketed. The next player then has Ball-in-Hand.On a bar table, i.e., a coin-operated table in which pocketed balls areunreachable and therefore out of play once pocketed, the balls stay downand the next player has Ball-in-Hand. A “First Out” game is forfeited bythe player if the wrong ball is pocketed on a coin-operated table, butthe player will still be in poker hand.

After the pool play, the poker hand is then finished by inspecting anddetermining the best poker hand (step 24). The best poker hand wins thepoker pot (step 26). If two players have identical hands, they split thepot. The order of winning poker hands is the conventional poker handranking, i.e., from lowest to highest (ace high), one pair, two pair,three of a kind, straight (five sequential cards not of the same suit),flush (five cards all of the same suit), full house (three of a kindplus one pair), four of a kind, straight flush (five sequential cardsall of the same suit), and royal flush (a straight flush with an acehigh in it).

In non-tournament play, the game is over after each round and newplayers may start a new game.

Alternate Methods of Play for Poker:

(a) Use Wild cards (for 2 to 10 players). For example, assume that the2's are declared “wild” and a player's hand contains a 10 of Hearts,Jack of Hearts, Ace of Hearts, and a pair of 2's. With the wild cards,the hand is now 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace, all Hearts, which is a RoyalFlush. That is, wild cards can be designated as any card and any suit.

(b) Three Card Draw (for 2 to 6 players). A player can discard up tothree cards and be dealt the same number of replacement cards in anattempt to better his poker hand before betting. For example, if theplayer's hand contains A, 4, 5, J, and K, the player may choose todiscard the 4, 5, and J and receive three more cards attempting tobetter his or her poker hand OR the player may choose to keep the 4+5 inan attempt to better the player's “First Out” hand.

(c) Seven Card Stud (for 2 to 7 players). Seven (7) cards are dealt toeach player. For a better hand, the player selects two cards to discardand keeps the five best cards for either the Poker or “First Out” hand.For example, if the player's hand contains A, 2, 5, 6, 7, K, and K, theplayer may discard the 6+7 for a better Poker hand or discard the twoKings for a better “First Out” hand.

(d) Seven Card Stud (for 2 to 10 players). Five (5) cards are dealt toeach player. Two more cards are placed face up as community cards, i.e.,they can be used by all players for a better poker hand only. The fivecards are used for the “First Out” part of the billiards play, but thecommunity cards are used only in the Poker play. This variation permitsten (10) players to play because five cards each are dealt to tenplayers, with the last two cards being the community cards.

(e) For “First Out”, make the 14+15 balls “Wild.” When a “Wild” ball ispocketed during a player's turn, the player places any one of theircards face down on the table at the end of the player's turn, thusreducing the number of balls needed to be pocketed for “First Out.” Ifthe player pockets both the 14 and 15 during the same turn, the playergets to discard only one (1) card. If on the next turn the playerpockets the last “Wild” ball, the player would then discard one (1) morecard.

(f) Five-Card Stud Billiards© Tournament. Suggested rules:

(1) Always be considerate of other players and all of the equipment. NoSmoking immediately around the pool table. No food or drinks on the pooltables. No foul language. No displays of temper or anger. A violation ofany of the above will be grounds for IMMEDIATE ELIMINATION from thetournament with NO refund of the entry fee, at the Tournament Director'sdiscretion, and all decisions will be final.

(2) When setting up the tournament, try to have between six and eightplayers at each first round table. The number of tables will depend onhow many enter the tournament. The top players (the number of playerswill be determined by the Tournament Director and be based on the numberof first round tables) will advance to the final table.

(3) First round setup: Set a “Player Position” form at each position (8maximum) around each table prior to the start of the tournament. Makesure each player either has or has access to a copy of the rules and hasread, understands and agrees to them—especially the first rule. Assigneach player a position around the tables—the only seat that is importantwill be Seat #1 who, in tournament play, combines the functions of theBanker and the Dealer and will be referred to herein as the“Banker/Dealer.” Start each player with 30 to 40 chips for the firstround, depending on how many players have entered. The chips areoptionally set on “Player Position” forms (FIG. 4) at each position onthe tables before the tournament starts, completed their “PlayerPosition” form and placed them at the assigned table, with the choicebeing up to the Tournament Director.

(4) The Banker/Dealer at each table will run the Game: deal the cardsfor shooting order, deal the cards for the Poker hand, check and collectall bets, and distribute all pay-outs. The Banker/Dealer is alsoresponsible for directing the play by the rules and referring anyquestions, problems, or conflicts to the Tournament Director. TheBanker/Dealer optionally keeps track of the games in the round using aTable Log as depicted in FIG. 5.

(5) Leave all cards, face down, and chips on the table in assignedposition at all times. Players may look at their hands any number oftimes during the game, but should be careful not to show their cards toany of the other players or expose them to all before the play is over.Doing so will let everyone know what is held and what is needed to win.

(6) There will be a two minute “Show-up” time to shoot. If the nextplayer in the rotation does not show up to shoot within the time limit,the player loses his or her turn and the player following in therotation will shoot. The time will be kept by the Banker/Dealer and theBanker/Dealer's decision will be final.

(7) If a player has just enough chips left to cover the Ante for “FirstOut”, the player will be allowed to play the “First Out” portion of thegame ONLY. If a player does not have enough chips left for the “FirstOut” Ante, the player will surrender his or her remaining chip(s) whichwill be added to the current “First Out” pot and then the player will beeliminated from the tournament.

(8) At the end of each game, the declared “First Out” hand is exposedand checked. If verified correct by the Banker/Dealer, all other handsare exposed and the players place chips for each card matching thecorresponding balls left on the table on top of their hand, left faceup, on the player's “Player Position” form on the table.

(9) If there is a question or conflict, the Banker/Dealer will firstcheck the rules to resolve the problem. If this doesn't provide asolution, the Banker/Dealer will then consult the Tournament Directorwhose decision will be final.

(10) Each round preferably consists of six games. At the end of the 1 stround, all chips are left on the table for the Tournament Director tocount and move to the final round table.

(11) The winners advancing to the final table will be the top chipwinners from each table. The actual number will be determined by thenumber of players entered in the tournament. It is preferable to havebetween 6 and 8 players in the final round.

EXAMPLES

Table setup depending on the number of players:

15 players. One table of 8 and one table of 7. The top 3 players fromeach table advance to the final.

22 players. One table of 8 and two tables of 7. The top 2 players fromeach table advance to the final.

24 players. Three tables of 8. The top 2 players from each table to thefinal.

32 players. Four tables of 8. The top 2 players from each table to thefinal.

This arrangement is only suggested as a guideline and is flexible toaccommodate the number of players registered in the tournament and thenumber of tables available.

Ante and Betting:

There will be 6 games played per round. Based on this, the following isa suggested betting progression for each round to allow the games tomove along satisfactorily. The average time for a 24 player tournamentis approximately 4 hours.

First round:

-   -   First 3 games: Poker: Ante 1 chip, raises up to 2 chips        -   First Out: Ante 1 chip, each card left 1 chip

Last 3 games Poker: Ante 2 chips, raises up to 4 chips

-   -   First Out: Ante 2 chips, each card left 2 chips

Final table: The winners of the first round will start with the chipsthat they won in the first round.

First 3 games Poker: Ante 3 chips, raises up to 6 chips

-   -   First Out: Ante 3 chips, each card left 3 chips

Last 3 games Poker: Ante 4 chips, raises up to 8 chips

First Out: Ante 4 chips, each card left 4 chips TABLE 1 Payoffs on theFinal table: Place: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 6 players 40% 23% 14% 10% 8% 5% — —8 players 40% 23% 14%  8% 6% 4% 3% 2%

Suggested payoffs for the final table are shown in Table 1.

For an alternate game variation, use a special 60-card deck with 2'sthrough 10's being the same as a regular 52-card deck, but with twoadded face cards designated herein as the Knight (N) and the Bishop (B).This variation eliminates the “Free” balls and adds eight new face cardsto the deck. The face cards are ranked as follows.

The Jack (J) is the 11 ball,

The Night (N) is the 12 ball,

The Bishop (B) is the 13 ball,

The Queen (Q) is the 14 ball,

The King (K) is the 15 ball, and

The Ace (A) is the 1 ball.

The Ace in the Poker hands would still be either high or low.

While the present invention has been described with reference to aparticular preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings, it willbe understood by those skilled in the art that the invention is notlimited to the preferred embodiment and that various modifications andthe like could be made thereto without departing from the scope of theinvention as defined in the following claims.

1. A method for playing a game combining aspects of pocket billiards andpoker and having a pocket billiards portion and a poker portion,comprising the steps of: (a) determining a order of play for the pocketbilliards portion; (b) determining an ante amount and a raise amount forthe poker portion; (c) dealing cards to a plurality of players for thepoker portion; (d) betting on poker hands in the poker portion; (e)determining an ante amount and penalty values for penalty cards for thepocket billiards portion; (f) playing consecutive order pocket billiardsin the pocket billiards portion until all billiard balls correspondingto the poker cards of a billiard player have been pocketed; and (g)determining a poker player having a best poker hand in the pokerportion.
 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the stepsof: paying pocket billiard winnings to the billiard player in step (f);and paying poker winnings to the poker player in step (g).
 3. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the poker portion includes a variation offive-card stud poker.
 4. A method according to claim 1, wherein thepoker portion includes a variation of seven-card stud poker.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the poker portion includes a variation ofthree-card draw poker.
 6. A method according to claim 1, wherein a14-ball and a 15-ball are free balls when playing a pocket billiardsportion of the game.
 7. A method according to claim 1, wherein a 14-balland a 15-ball are wild card balls when playing a pocket billiardsportion of the game.
 8. A method according to claim 1 adapted fortournament play, wherein the steps of claim 1 are collectively definedas one game, the method further comprising the steps of: playing a firstspecified plurality of games at each of a plurality of tables;determining, at a conclusion of playing the first specified plurality ofgames, a winner for each of the tables; forming a final table consistingof all the winners from each of the tables; playing a second specifiedplurality of games at the final table; and determining, at a conclusionof playing the second specified plurality of games, a winner at thefinal table.
 9. A method according to claim 8, wherein the step ofdetermining, at the conclusion of playing the second specified pluralityof games, further includes the step of determining a finishing place foreach player at the final table.
 10. A method according to claim 9,further comprising the step of paying winnings to a plurality of playersat the final table, wherein the winnings are computed on the finishingplace for each player.
 11. A method according to claim 1, wherein a60-card deck is used for the poker portion of the game, the 60-card deckincluding ace through ten of each of four suits, and including five facecards in each of the four suits, so that each suit consists of fifteencards ranked one to fifteen which correspond to a plurality of pocketbilliard balls numbered one through fifteen.